Snuff Bottle
1750-1895 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Chalcedony, carved. Coral stopper set in metal |
| Brief description | Snuff bottle, carved chalcedony, China, Qing dynasty, 1800-1900 |
| Physical description | Snuff bottle, rounded flattened flask with an angular indentation underneath. Made of chalcedony, honey colour shading to grey with brown inclusions, carved in relief a bear with an eagle on its back, on the reverse there is a cat looking up at butterflies and a cloud motif. On the sides, rocks and magic fungus. Dome-shaped coral stopper set in metal. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Salting Bequest |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. The brown inclusions determine the placing of the carved decoration. The bear, xiong, and eagle, ying, make a pun on the word for 'hero'. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Snuff is powdered tobacco, usually blended with aromatic herbs or spices. The habit of snuff-taking spread to China from the West during the 17th century and became established in the 18th century. People generally carried snuff in a small bottle. By the 20th century these bottles had become collectors' items, owing to the great variety of materials and decorative techniques used in their production. |
| Bibliographic reference | White, Helen. Snuff Bottles from China. London: Bamboo Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1992. pp. 50-51, plate 18. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.1798-1910 |
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| Record created | July 24, 1998 |
| Record URL |
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